In Global Water Intelligence this month

Need to know

As GWI went to press, Spanish construction giant Abengoa was applying to the courts for extra time to push through a deal with its creditors...

Going forward, Abengoa will no longer be a financial investor in the projects it develops, which makes things difficult for Abengoa Water, which is essentially the most savvy water project developer in the business. The company was not included in the shortlist of companies prequalified for Oman’s privately financed desal programme this month, and its grand prize – the Vista Ridge pipeline project for San Antonio in Texas – looks certain to...

Another Spanish construction giant restructuring its finances this month is FCC. The new deal (which is the second refinancing in 15 months) makes Mexican oligarch Carlos Slim the largest shareholder in the company with...

Acciona is feeling the heat in Catalunya, where its €1 billion 50-year ATLL bulk water concession for the Barcelona metropolitan area seems to be ploughing deeper into a legal and political quagmire...

Agbar is also having a hard time in Catalunya. It suffered a body blow this month with the annulment by Catalunya’s high court of its 35-year Aguas de Barcelona concession, controversially awarded in 2012 without an open tender...

Political pressure on private water concessions has been growing across Iberia. Portugal’s new Socialist government has acted swiftly to fulfil an electoral pledge to help Portuguese municipalities renegotiate flawed municipal concession contracts...

Water investors are positive about a flurry of privately financed desalination and wastewater treatment contracts in the GCC area, despite crumbling credit ratings across the region...

The $62.6 billion draft 2017 State Water Plan for Texas – released for public comment earlier this month – showcases a wealth of desalination and advanced wastewater treatment opportunities, as the state looks to diversify away from a historical reliance on surface water sources...

Japan is tendering its first privately financed municipal wastewater treatment plant. It could be the start of something big: prime minister Shinzo Abe has called for twelve privately financed water and wastewater projects to be signed by March 2017...

Veolia reported strong profit growth (+25.5%) on weak sales growth (+1.4%) for the year ending 31 December 2015 (see table above). The water part of the business performed less well overall, with revenues down 1.7%, largely because of...

Suez was less upbeat, posting a small decline in net profit after minority interests. Nevertheless, its European water business put in a robust performance, driven by growth in its non-concession services business and...

Of the Americans, both the major investor-owned utilities (American Water and Aqua America) put in solid performances, with American enjoying an extra fillip as a result of joining the S&P500...

Hyflux posted a 39% increase in revenue, boosted by its work on the Qurayyat desalination project in Oman and its containerised plant for Yanbu in Saudi Arabia. Going forward, the company said that it is continuing to explore...

Project Tracker

Project Tracker

Charting the progress of over 900 Desal, Reuse and PPP water projects in the international water industry.

What's making the news in global water projects this month

Texas pushes inland desal and reuse; large-scale SWRO takes off in Africa; Japanese concessions loom; Oman’s desal boom continues; the tail that wags the dog in California; Saudi NWC outlines chunky BOT pipeline; all the latest project news from around the world this month.

Revised legislation aimed at improving service delivery in the Mexican water market could encourage more municipalities to bring in private sector expertise. Ongoing challenges mean that it is not a market for the opportunistic.

Delhi’s precarious raw water supply situation was brought to the world’s attention last month when a violent protest in Haryana state cut off 60% of the city’s water supply. With politics blocking inter-state transfers, tackling non-revenue water and reuse will take priority.

A 20-year battle to restructure the financial position of Indonesian drinking water utilities is approaching its final stages as the Ministry of Finance prepares a total debt write-off. The VP hopes that utilities can then start borrowing again and plough $2.5 billion into water.

The share price of Malaysian infrastructure operator Ranhill Holdings fell 16% on its first day of trading on 16 March, despite the final IPO price of MYR1.20 representing a 30% discount to the initial offer, which was only 13% subscribed.

The authorities in Aragón have accused previous administrations of over-mortgaging the region by forcing through a series of wastewater BOTs. With compliance deadlines looming, how will the remainder of the infrastructure be procured?

The Spanish group’s largest shareholder has made a takeover offer after accumulating more than 30% of the company’s equity. It is the precursor to a comprehensive strategic review which could strengthen the hand of the Aqualia water division.

A new alliance between Severn Trent and United Utilities has been interpreted as a defensive move against attempts by the regulator to introduce competition into bigger segments of the water business. Will the strategy work?

Middle East and Africa

Despite growing financial worries over the impact of dropping oil prices in the GCC, more and more privately financed projects are being brought onto the market. Will the difficult financial climate prove too much for investors?

The utility serving the northern parts of the United Arab Emirates has become the latest to look to tap into private finance by starting tendering for its first independent water plant (IWP) at Umm al Quwain.

The first agreement has been signed on the largest infrastructure build-out for decades in Egypt, while a parallel currency devaluation aims to sweeten the deal for international investors. Will the developers already in place in Egypt lose out?